Abstract:

A numerical study combined with the field synergy principle was performed to investigate the flow and heat transfer of fully developed turbulent flow in a spirally corrugated tube. Air was selected as the working fluid and constant temperature was applied to the tube wall. Sixteen different structural parameters consisting  of four different corrugation pitches and depths were considered. The effects of helical corrugation and changes of corrugation pitch and depth on field synergy performance and heat transfer enhancement of the enhanced tube were discussed. It indicates that the field synergy principle is efficient in explaining the effect of structural parameter changes on the heat transfer performance of spirally corrugated tubes and also is a guide to structural optimization of enhanced heat transfer elements. By contrast, the Nusselt number acquired from the numerical calculation is in relatively good agreement with the results of experimental correlation.

Key words:  spirally corrugated tubes, heat transfer enhancement, field synergy principle